ALTbalaji Direct Subscriptions Up 69% Yoy And Half-Yearly Revenue At Rs 34cr

ALTBalaji remains one of the most consistent hit content creators for OTT, adding 9 shows in the last half-year, taking the overall library to 87 shows. The company sold 2.9m subscriptions during the first half of H1FY22 and currently has an active direct subscriber base of over 1.45m. This excludes subscribers on partner apps where the content continues to do well. The company continues its strategy to drive deeper audience engagement by creating content that is targeted at a mass audience of Indians seeking differentiated stories. The platform currently has over 87 shows, with some of the biggest hits debuting in H1Fy22 including Punchh Beat Season 2, Broken but Beautiful Season 3, and Cartel.

 During the half-year, the TV business produced 363.5 hours of content across 7 shows for 4 broadcasters. Five new additional shows have been lined up and should commence shortly.

The movie business resumed production and the company made good progress. The company continues to wait for availability for theatrical launch windows and is looking at deals across direct to digital as well. As part of its strategy, the company continues to control investments in movies and pursue pre-sales and co-production deals where feasible.

 Shobha Kapoor, Managing Director, Balaji Telefilms Limited, said, "ALTBalaji continues to drive subscription growth and we added 2.9 million subscriptions during the half year. We added 9 shows in the last half of the year and now have a very strong line up for the rest of the year. Our strategic content sharing deals will ensure we maintain control of the cash spent while driving overall profitability. Our TV business has shown good recovery in terms of production hours and we hope to improve this momentum as five new shows commence. In the movie business, production for some of the exciting projects is at various stages of completion, and we are closely monitoring the availability for theatrical releases as well as direct-to-digital launches. Overall, the year has started well and we will build on this momentum through the year."

Operational and financial highlights

• ALTBalaji total subscriptions sold for the half-year were 2.9 million versus 1.7 million in H1FY21, with direct subscription revenues of Rs 34 crore versus Rs 24 crore.
• The platform currently has 1.45 million active subscribers and 87 shows available.
• The TV business remained steady in the first quarter, with 363.5 hours of production across seven shows and a strong pipeline for the year.
• Movies' current pipeline includes five exciting projects.
• Overall, financial performance for the half-year
• Group revenues were Rs 141 crore, of which ALTBalaji contributed Rs 39 crore.
• The group's EBITDA loss was Rs 68 crore, and the loss after tax was Rs 73 crore.